Police Appeal After Pensioner Held Hostage In L'Derry

Police are appealing for information after a pensioner was held hostage in her own home in Magherafelt, Co L'Derry, on Friday.

The incident happened at a property in the Queen's Avenue area at around 7.30pm.

Four men entered the woman's home and two of the males remained with the victim in her bedroom while the other two ransacked the property.

Before leaving with a quantity of jewellery, the intruders removed the victim's wedding ring from her hand.

Detective Sergeant David Halliwell said: "Any crime in which older people are the victims is despicable but taking a treasured wedding band from the hand of an elderly lady is a particularly loathsome act.

"We believe the males involved in this incident were aged in their late teens and were wearing knitted hats with scarves around their faces. We understand they made off on foot.

"We are appealing to the community in Magherafelt to help us identify the people involved, arrest them and bring them before the courts. Detectives can be contacted by calling 101. Or if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details they can contact the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111."

Serious Concerns Raised Over Third Fish Kill

Serious concerns have been raised following a third fish kill in Northern Ireland over the past two months.

A number of fish died in the Glenavy River in south Antrim.

Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney said: "The fish kill at the Glenavy River is the third major fish kill in the South Antrim area within two months following incidents at the Six Mile Water and the Three Mile Water.

"Sterling work has been done by the local angling association to make the river accessible. They have also made good efforts to involve the local community and improve the environment.

"This is a setback for that hard work.

"We need to get to grips with these environmental blows which are damaging healthy rivers with healthy ecosystems."

Call For Resolution Over Equal Pay Issue

Ulster Unionist Finance Spokesperson, Leslie Cree MLA, has given notice that the Party has used an Assembly motion to call for a resolution of the outstanding equal pay issue, which affects thousands of civil servants who worked in Police stations and Courthouses.

Mr Cree said: "This has been a long-running saga which has been batted back and forward between the two Departments. It has been the subject of legal action and then appeared to get stuck in the Executive.

"The staff affected are mainly those who worked in Police stations and Courthouses during the Troubles and who faced the risk of terrorist attack. They lost out when an equal pay settlement was reached in 2009.

"It is clear that there is a great degree of sympathy for the staff and certainly the Ulster Unionist Party is very keen to see this issue resolved as soon as possible."

(CD/LM)